Bhagavad-gita is a treatise meant for devotees of the Lord, where Krishna is the speaker and Arjuna is the listener. The system of yoga (to link with God), described in the Gita, was first spoken to the predominating deity of the Sun, and has been passed down through disciplic succession. However, over time, this system became lost, and the Lord had to speak it again to Arjuna. The purport of the Gita is to establish a new parampara[1] in the same line of thought. Krishna wanted Arjuna to become the authority in understanding the Gita, as he was a devotee of the Lord, a direct student of Krishna, and his intimate friend. Therefore, Bhagavad-gita is best understood by someone who has similar qualities to Arjuna’s, that is, a devotee in a direct relationship with the Lord. A devotee can have a relationship with the Lord in one of five different ways: passive, active, friend, parent, or conjugal lover.

The Bhagavad-gita, also known as Gita, is a significant Upanishad in Vedic literature, and a fundamental source of Vedic wisdom. Though several English commentaries exist, none are entirely authoritative, as most lack the essence of the original text. The Gita instructs us to follow its teachings precisely, just as one would follow the instructions on a medicine label or of a physician. Lord Krishna is the speaker of the Gita, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan. Arjuna, a warrior, was in a friend-devotee relationship with Lord Krishna, and had his doubts clarified on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the discourse of the Gita.

The Gita’s primary purpose is to free mankind from illusion and material existence.

To comprehend and practice the Gita’s teachings, one should develop a submissive attitude toward Lord Krishna, understand his or her relationship with the Supreme Being, and seek answers to existential questions. Bhagavad-gita is best understood by direct followers of the Lord, just like Arjuna, who was a friend and devotee of Lord Krishna.

The essence of the Bhagavad-Gita, also known as Gita, is the knowledge passed down through the Vedas, making it one of the most important Upanishads in Vedic literature. While there are several commentaries on the Gita, author A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada believes that none strictly interpret the text. He explains that to truly understand the Gita, it should be read and followed according to the directions of the speaker, Lord Sri Krishna. Arjuna, Krishna’s friend, accepted the Gita in a spirit of devotion and with a submissive consciousness. It is a treatise meant for devotees of the Lord, and it aims to deliver mankind from the nescience of material existence, a state in which every individual (at least at one point) is placed. T

he five basic truths explained in Gita are:

1. The science of God
2. The science of the living entities (jivas) or the soul,
3. Prakriti (The Thre Modes of Material Nature)
4. Time
5. Karma (activity).

.1+Humans who are materially contaminated and conditioned, are affected by false consciousness, which is the belief that one is a product of material nature. This false ego prevents individuals from understanding their situation, and becoming free from the bodily conception of life. 

The Bhagavad-gita was created to help individuals become free from material consciousness, and as a preliminary activity for transcendentalists, to realize that they are not their material bodies, but parts of the Lord. Purified consciousness is acting in accordance with the instructions of the Lord. This consciousness is already part of individuals, because they are part and parcel of the Lord, but the affinity to become affected by inferior modes of material nature, is innate, unlike the Supreme Lord who is never affected. 

All living beings have a consciousness of:

“I am.”

Whereas contaminated consciousness leads one to believe that”

“I am the lord of all I survey. I am the enjoyer.” This tendency is due to our subconscious mind.

The central figure of creation and enjoyment is the Supreme Lord, and living entities are meant to cooperate to satisfy Him. All of these and more, explain the nature of sanatana-dharma, which is eternal life that cannot be changed by faith or anything else.

The Bhagavad-gita as It Is, written by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, describes that when we are contaminated by material desires, we become conditioned and develop false consciousness. False consciousness emerges from identifying ourselves as merely a product of nature.

One who is wholly absorbed in bodily concepts cannot understand this situation. The Bhagavad-gita was written to free us from this bodily conception, and bring us to pure consciousness. One must first realize that they are not the material body in order to become liberated. Liberation means freedom from material consciousness and identifying with pure consciousness. All of the teachings in the Bhagavad-gita intend to awaken pure consciousness. Purified consciousness involves acting in accordance with the instructions of the Lord. Our consciousness already exists since we are part of the Lord. The difference between the Lord and us is that the Lord remains unaffected by material desires, whereas we are often swayed by them.

Human history notes the beginning of non-Sanatana religious faiths. However, Sanatana-dharma endures eternally with living beings, for the authoritative sastras (scriptures), state that the living entity has no birth or death. In fact, the living entity is eternal and indestructible. They continue to live, even after the destruction of their temporary material body. As stated in the Gita, the living entity is never born nor does it ever die; it is their eternal quality that remains their constant companion—their eternal religion.

Every living being is constantly engaged in rendering service to others. It is this activity of service, that constitutes the eternal religion of the living being. Although individuals claim to profess a particular type of faith, this designation does not affect their eternal occupation of rendering service to others. Material conditions of birth, death, disease, and old age do not exist in the spiritual world, where there are innumerable spiritual planets.

When one desires and hankers after the spiritual world, they can enter it by thinking of Lord Krishna when they leave their present body. The Bhagavad-gita explains that one can enter the spiritual kingdom simply by thinking of the Supreme at the time of death.

Whatever state of being one remembers when they quit their present body, in their next life they will attain to that state. To transfer thoughts from material energy to spiritual energy, one must engage their mind in reading Vedic literatures. The forgetful living entities have forgotten their relationship with the Supreme Lord’ and are engrossed in thinking of material activities. Just to transfer their thinking power to the spiritual sky, Krishna-dvaipayana Vyasa^[2] has given a great number of Vedic literatures. If we have a strong sense of love for the Supreme Lord, then we can discharge our duty, and at the same time remember Him.

The mind is always flying, but we must practice concentrating the mind, on the form of the Supreme Lord or on the sound of His name. The Bhagavad-gita teaches one how to absorb the mind and intelligence in the thought of the Lord. If one adopts the principles of Bhakti yoga^[3] and accepts the Supreme Lord as the highest target, the ultimate goal, then they can approach the Lord in the spiritual sky and make their life perfect, free from all miseries and anxieties.

The Bhagavad-gita is considered highly valuable because it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. In the present age, people are so caught up in mundane activities that they may not have the time or inclination to read other Vedic literatures. However, the Bhagavad-gita holds within it ,the essence of all Vedic texts, and is sufficient for spiritual progress.

You can think of the Bhagavad-gita as analogous to the Red-pill in the Movie “The Matrix”:

“As narrated, the blue pill will allow the subject to remain in the fabricated reality of the Matrix (analogous to the material world’s Three Modes); the red serves as a ‘location device’ to locate the subject’s body in the real world (analogous to the spiritual world), and to prepare him or her to be ‘unplugged’ from the Matrix”

(I the writer of this presentation added this tid-bit, because in 2000 in Australia, I won a DVD player special only one of kind edition, with the Matrix movie logo, and character sketches of the actorsn the sliver case.  In 150 word or less, all I had to do was write down what I thought the movie meant, and in a little more detail I wrote what I have just written above.)

It is spoken by Lord Krishna himself, making it even more valuable than other texts and akin to the sacred water of the Ganges. This scripture should be read with attentiveness and regularity, as it contains the nectar of divine wisdom.

The Bhagavad-gita emphasizes the importance of surrendering oneself to the divine and serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It further advocates one religion, and one scripture for all the people in the world. The Bhagavad-gita is transmitted through a disciplic succession, and Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is one of the prominent stalwarts and enlightened teachers in this lineage.

Foot Notes:

[1] Parampara—the disciplic succession through which spiritual knowledge is transmitted by bona-fide spiritual masters; Literally, one after the other. It refers to the disciplic succession of spiritual masters and their disciples who became spiritual masters, beginning with Kåñëa and Brah-mä, His disciple at the dawn of creation.

[2] Krishna-dvaipayana Vyasa: the literary incarnation of God, and the greatest philosopher of ancient times. The son of Parasara, and the compiler of the original Vedic scriptures, including the eighteen Puranas, Vedanta-sutra, the Mahabharata, and the Upanisads. He played a very important part in guiding the Pandavas during crucial times. He gave the vision of the battle of Kuruksetra to Sanjaya so that he could relate it to Dhrtarasöra. He is still living in this world; The son of Parasara Muni and Satyavati-devi, Vyasa is the empowered (saktyavesa-)avatara of God who rendered the Vedic sabda (transcendental sound; especially the Vedic sound, which is the self-evident proof of knowledge. As an authoritative testimony, the third of the three Vaisnava pramanas/proofs) into written texts some 5000 years ago. He is also known as Vedavyasa, Badarayana and Dvaipayana. A Saktyavesa-avatara is an empowered living entity who serves as an incarnation of the Lord and is empowered by the Supreme Lord with one or more of the Lord’s opulences. FYI He is still living in this world, somewhere in the Himalayan Mountains of India. Only one person in the 13^th century of this planet earth has had contact with Him. Madhvacarya—a great thirteenth-century Vaisnava spiritual master, who preached the theistic philosophy of pure dualism. The founder of the dvaita school of Vedanta philosophy. He wrote a number of works which refuted the impersonal philosophy of Sankaracarya. He appeared in the 13th century in Udupi, in South India. He took sannyasa at the age of twelve, traveled all over India and had the personal darsana (audience) of Srila Vyasadeva in the Himalayan abode of Badarikasrama and presented his commentary on Bhagavad-gita before that venerable sage. He also received a salagrama-silas called Asöamurti from Vyasa. He was very powerful both physically and intellectually,

[3] Bhakti-yoga—the system of cultivation of bhakti, or pure devotional service, which is untinged by sense gratification or phil